A judge was interviewing a woman regarding her pending divorce, and asked, “What are the grounds for your divorce?” She replied, “About four acres and a nice little home in the middle of the property with a stream running by.”
“No,” he said, “I mean what is the foundation of this case?” “It is made of concrete, brick and mortar,” she responded confidently.
“I mean,” he continued, “What are your relations like?” “I have an aunt and uncle living here in town, and so do my husband’s parents.”
He said, “Do you have a real grudge?” “No,” she replied, “We have a two-car carport and have never really needed one.”
“Please,” he tried again, “is there any infidelity in your marriage?” “Yes, both my son and daughter have stereo sets. We don’t necessarily like the music, but the answer to your questions is yes.”
“Ma’am, does your husband ever beat you up?” “Yes,” she responded, “about twice a week he gets up earlier than I do.”
Finally, in frustration, the judge asked, “Lady, why do you want a divorce?” “Oh, I don’t want a divorce,” she replied. “I’ve never wanted a divorce. My husband does. He said he can’t communicate with me.”
Have you ever had the experience where you explained something to someone so that it was perfectly clear, and they still didn’t get it? Have you ever labored in language to paint such a vivid picture of an event or situation, and they gave you that deer in the headlights look as if they had no idea what you were talking about? (That image of a deer caught in the headlights look is an interesting one. You are barreling down the highway at 55mph and the deer jumps out and looks at you like you are the one who is doing something wrong.) But seriously, have you ever walked someone through a simple step by step process, and they responded to you with a shoulder shrug and the three-letter slang “Huh?”
Well, if you have ever had any of these experiences, you know how it feels to be a preacher! No, I’m just kidding! Actually, I was trying to think of an example of this type of miscommunication from my own life, but I didn’t want to embarrass my wife in public! Wait a second, what I meant was that I didn’t want my wife to be embarrassed by me embarrassing myself in public!
But when you stop and think about it, it is utterly amazing how someone can speak with absolute clarity, and the listener completely misunderstands the meaning of the message. This is exactly what is happening in this morning’s Scripture reading!
Spiritual Blindness (31-34)
As Jesus neared the end his journey to Jerusalem and came a few steps closer to his death, he continued to prepare his disciples for life and ministry without his physical presence on earth. Thus, he takes this occasion to pull his disciples away from the crowd and explain his coming death again. This is now the fourth time he has mentioned this to his disciples (Lk. 9:22, 44;17:25), but the disciples still didn’t understand what he was saying. And this time, he even added two new pieces of information to clarify the nature of his coming death.
First, Jesus explains that his death will be a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 contain the most detailed descriptions of the Messiah as a suffering servant. Hundreds of years earlier, the prophets predicted that the Messiah would be forsaken by God, mocked by his enemies, tormented by thirst, pierced through his hands and feet, despised and rejected by men, wounded for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities, until he was poured out unto death. These prophecies emphasize the fact that the events about to occur have been part of God’s divine plan all along and that they must take place.
The second piece of new information is that Jesus will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. Jesus’ previous predictions alludes to the role of the Jewish leaders in his suffering, but now he mentions that it will also include the Gentiles. After all, we now know that the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, found him innocent of all charges, but he caved in to political pressure and sentenced Jesus to be crucified.
Even though this is the fourth time that Jesus had predicted his death and make the details of it perfectly clear, Luke tells us that the disciples didn’t understand any of this. The problem was not with Jesus’ communication; he couldn’t have made this message any clearer. The problem was with the disciple’s eyes and ears.
The disciples were unable to see what God was doing because they were blinded by their own expectations. They could not discern his plan of salvation because it did not conform to their plan of liberation. They were so focused on Jesus being the king of glory that they could not comprehend a Messiah that was a suffering servant. The disciples’ physical sight was fine, but in many ways they were spiritually blind.
If the disciples were so slow to see what God was doing, I wonder how well we understand God’s plan for the world and for our lives. Like them, we often cannot see God’s plan because we are blinded by our own expectations. In our entitled desire for peace and prosperity in this life, we struggle to understand why God would use suffering or death to accomplish his plan on earth.
Have you ever wondered why you suffer from physical or emotional pain? Have you ever wondered why God would allow someone who you love to suffer or die? Have you ever wondered why God allows the wicked to prosper and evil to persist?
Well, just think about God’s plan for his own son: If God did not plan for the Jesus’ suffering and death, there would be no atonement for our sins. If God didn’t allow his son to face the nails, thorns, and spear, he could not have been resurrected to new life and we would not have any hope for eternal life. If these events didn’t happen just the way the prophets had predicted, then all humanity would one day be torched by the flames of hell. But thanks be to God for his wonderful plan of redemption where his perfect son would sacrifice his own life on the cross for sinners like us!
The disciples didn’t understand or accept this plan for Jesus! How about you? Do you understand God’s plan of salvation? Do you see how God used suffering in his drama of redemption? Do you comprehend why Jesus had to die? Do you see how God uses tragedy to bring about a greater triumph? When you stop and think about God’s perfect plan for his son, don’t you think you can trust his plan for your life?
I want you to think about God’s plan for your life right now. It is easy to get upset, anxious, or discouraged when our expectations are broken and things don’t work out the way we hoped, but maybe God’s plan is different than our plan. We often ask questions like why didn’t get into that college, why didn’t I get that job, is my marriage so difficult, why did I receive that diagnosis, why did my loved one die? These are all expectation questions. If you are struggling with any of these types of questions, I challenge you to step back and look for the big picture of God’s plan in your life. How good are your spiritual eyes?
Spiritual Sight (35-43)
Luke goes on to tell us that as Jesus approached Jericho, there was a blind man begging by the roadside. Back in these days, there was no assistance or social services for the blind, and they were usually forced to beg for food, money, and the most basic provisions for life. The blind were truly at the mercy of others.
When the beggar heard Jesus’ posse passing by, he asked someone what the commotion was all about. Someone told him that Jesus of Nazareth was coming. Now this man had surely heard of Jesus’ mercy and his ministry of miraculous healings. And somehow, this blind man knew something about Jesus’ true identity, for in his plea for mercy, he acknowledges Jesus as the Son of David. This title recognizes the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would descend from the royal line of David. This distinguishes Jesus as the Messiah—the Savior whom God had always promised to send. Other people, perhaps even the disciples, saw Jesus as a preacher and miracle worker, but the blind beggar saw him as the Savior. He believed that Jesus could not only restore his eyesight, but he could also save his soul.
Therefore, the blind beggar used his only resource—his voice—to shamelessly shouted above the crowd and beg Jesus to show him mercy. But some in the crowd, most likely the spiritually impaired disciples, were embarrassed by this spectacle and rebuked him and told him to be quiet. It appears that they hadn’t learned anything from the incident when they rebuked the parents for bringing their babies to Jesus. They were still blind to the fact that Jesus loves the weak and has compassion for the outcast.
Jesus put a stop to all of this and ordered the man to be brought to him and he asked the simple question, “What do you want me to do for you?” But notice how the beggar replies, “Lord, I want to see.” He addressed Jesus as Lord! What incredible faith!
Jesus heard his plea for mercy and immediately restored the man’s sight, and he credited the man’s faith as the source of his healing. The former beggar became a follower of Jesus and the while crowd joined him as he praised God!
What an incredible story of deliverance and redemption? Did you catch the divine irony: the disciples had physical sight but were spiritually blind; but this beggar was physically blind but had spiritual sight!
I wonder how many of us are in this same position? I know that most of you have pretty good eyesight, but how is your spiritual sight? Do you know that he is the Messiah who can heal your body, restore your mind, save your soul? Have you confessed him as Lord of your life and begged him for mercy? Have you made a decision to follow him or are you still wandering around in the darkness of sin? Have you really put your faith in Jesus? Will you continue to live the life of faith and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus? Can you see? Can you see? Can you see?
Someone once asked Helen Keller, “Isn’t it terrible to be blind?” Now what kind of insensitive imbecile would ask a blind woman a question like that? If you ever catch yourself at the brink of asking a stupid question like this, just stop and walk away! But do you know what she said? “Better to be a blind person and see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing!
This is exactly what Jesus wants us to see!